LAHORE: The Zakat and Ushr Department, even after the passage of six months of the ongoing fiscal year, has failed to release funds to public hospitals, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Due to this failure, poor and deserving patients are not able to get the required medicines from the specially constituted Zakat and Ushr Department in the respective hospitals, causing them much inconvenience.
On the other hand, the treatments for cancer and hepatitis together with dialysis of these poor patients are mainly dependent on the funds received by these hospitals from both the Zakat and Ushr and the Social Welfare departments.
It is noteworthy that in each hospital, social welfare officers and their subordinate staff members continue to receive their monthly salaries regularly. There are also reports of widespread corruption done by these officers at the expense of poor patients.
Speaking with Pakistan Today, a spokesperson of the Zakat and Ushr Department said that the funds were expected to be released within the next few days, according to the grant determined for each hospital.
The spokesperson regretted the inconvenience caused to patients because of the delay, adding that they were making sincere efforts to release the funds as soon as possible.
